A New Life
by Wolf of the Aurora
Summary: The United States have encountered a new enemy. An officer of the United States Navy gets caught in the storm and becomes mortally wounded by the attack. On the brink of death, she reflects on her past and finds out who she really is.


**A/N: This is my first go at writing a Kantai Collection fanfiction. I may have made some mistakes in the historical references so feel free to correct and/or notify me.**

* * *

A New Life

Date: December, 2016

Location: 150 miles southwest of Oahu, Hawaii

Wind howled and screamed as the _Arleigh Burke_ -class destroyer, _USS Cole_ , tried her best to brave the wrath of the Pacific. Rain hammered down on her and she creaked and groaned as she hit the bottom of a wave, sending water rushing across her decks. Not far from her, one of her sisters screamed as a fireball engulfed the entire ship. If she could, _Cole_ would have wept in agony as it was her sister, the namesake of her class, _Arleigh Burke_ , which had just been sent to a watery grave. _Cole_ was slammed by a wave that pushed her involuntarily to starboard and she got a barrage of strange blue, direct energy type munitions straight into her left side. Her crew exclaimed in surprise as another volley fatally crippled her. Her engines have quit and all she could do was ride the aggressive waves.

On the deck, _Cole_ 's crew was jumping into the water and made their way to the inflated life rafts. _Cole_ was sinking fast, stern first. The second-in-command, a young, dark red haired woman by the name of Samantha, looked around, glad that only a couple more crew needed to escape. She was about to jump over herself when a realization hit her. She grabbed a nearby Ensign.

"Have you seen the Captain?" Samantha asked, shouting above the wind.

"I think he's still on the bridge," he answered.

 _Goddamn it!_

She ran as fast as she could back up to the bridge and found the Captain looking at something in the distance.

"What are you doing?! Sir, we have to go now!" Samantha shouted.

"Isn't it popular belief that the captain goes down with the ship?" he said rhetorically to himself.

"Everyone else is already off _Cole_. There's a window to escape and you're taking it," Samantha shouted loud enough for him to hear. She grabbed him and pushed him towards the door when something blew a hole in the bridge. She looked back and out of _Cole_ 's new wound and saw something in the distance that she did not expect to see.

Back out on the deck, Samantha tried to the submerged helipad where there was a life raft waiting. The ship shook and she grabbed the railing. The sound of explosions erupted throughout _Cole_ as she shuddered violently. Samantha gripped the railing tightly, her eyes wide with horror as a fireball erupted right next to her.

* * *

Everything steadily grew darker as the crushing depths pulled hungrily on the doomed ships. _Cole_ groaned with protest as she sank deeper and deeper beneath the waves, her shredded American flag still waving in defiance. Her groans turned into shrieks until a muffled bang split her in two. Not far from her, Samantha was in her own descent. She looked up towards the fading surface.

 _I've always been attracted to the ocean. I could never explain its pulling current, but it was always there. Like a lover waiting for me with open arms._

 _I came from a military family. Always with the Army and Air Force however. It wasn't a surprise to them when I said joining the military, but their reactions when I said navy were quite amusing._

 _Ever since I could read I wanted to serve on a great warship. Sadly, the battleships were deemed obsolete and were retired before I finished the academy._

 _I remember my shore leaves back at_ Pearl. _I always hung around the harbor, looking at_ Ford Island. _My crewmates always teased me for being infatuated with the tower of steel that is the_ USS Missouri _instead of finding a boyfriend._

 _But what they don't know is that even though I admire_ Mo _a lot, I wasn't always looking at her_.

 _I remember when the top brass found out that the Japanese were rebuilding their navy and advancing across the Pacific. They definitely weren't happy as it violated Japan's Constitution. They tried to explain their reasoning that it was very necessary and they tried to warn us about these things called "Abyssals"._

 _Of course Washington excused these Abyssals immediately. Human like creatures that can walk on water and deal as much damage as a cruise missile? It's not like many people would believe that anyway._

 _I didn't. I still wouldn't if I didn't see them standing outside the bridge._

 _Well, here I am sinking to my grave. It doesn't sadden me though. At least I was able to save as many people as I could._

 _Wait...what is that? Those streaks of water heading towards the life rafts..._

 _No. It can't be. The Abyssals! They're-!_

Samantha watched in muted horror as the water began to run red. As much as she wanted to look away she couldn't as her lungs were heavy with water and she didn't have the strength to move.

 _No! No, no, no! Those monsters! They killed defenseless people!_

 _I wasn't able to save my crew! Again! Just like before, I am completely defenseless and powerless to do anything._

" _Again"? Why "again"? Did I dream about this before? I think I did._

 _The rising sun, the oily fire scorching my skin after my chest was torn open, the screams of hundreds of men crying for help..._

 _These sensations. They're way too vivid to be just dreams._

 _Could they be...memories?_

She thought no more as she closed her eyes and let the abyss move in to claim her.

Suddenly, the weight of the ocean disappeared and Samantha broke the surface gasping for air. There was a small empty life raft near her and she pushed through the storm and hauled herself into it. The inside was streaked with blood but she didn't care as her body ached to the point of numbness. She lay, letting her white Summer Service Uniform run red and her hair darken in the downpour.

* * *

Date: Unknown

Location: Unknown

Samantha urgently walked through the hospital as she went to the specified room number in the emergency department. Even though it was only a minute since she entered the ED, she wanted to find the room quickly and stopped at a reception desk for help.

"Excuse me. I got a call saying my sister is here," Samantha said breathlessly.

"Her name?" the receptionist asked.

"Ackerman, Hope."

"In the room right behind you, ma'am."

Samantha turned around and everything blurred in the background as she slowly walked towards the curtained door. She stepped aside to let a nurse out before entering the room herself. Inside, her sister, two years her senior, lay on gurney. She was in a hospital gown with her intact clothes folded neatly on a chair. Her dark green hair, which is normally tied in a bun, spread across her pillow.

"Sam? Is that you?" Hope asked.

"Yes, it's me," Samantha said.

"Could you get my glasses? They should be in my purse."

Samantha looked around and found her purse on a table next to the chair containing the clothes and put her glasses on Hope. She looked up and down Samantha's body.

"You clean up nicely," Hope said, commenting on Samantha's Summer White Service uniform.

"Thanks." She gave a small chuckle. "What happened to you anyway?"

"Someone decided to run a stop sign and make a left turn right in front of me." Hope sounded unsure.

"Really?" Samantha asked, picking up on her sister's tone.

"That's what the police told me. Truth be told, I only remember waking up behind the airbag."

A doctor came in and began listing Hope's x-ray results. She had a fractured left collar bone, a fractured sternum, and a fractured pelvis. The injuries were caused by the seatbelt but if she hadn't used it, Hope would've been a lot more broken up.

Outside the room, Samantha talked with the doctor.

"She's going to need to stay in the hospital for two to three days. Before then, she can't be discharged."

"I'm leaving for deployment tomorrow," Samantha said, fidgeting under the pressure of her dilemma.

"Is there any other family member that can do it?"

"Yeah. Let me call her real quick."

Samantha stood at the corner down the hall from Hope's room. It was the closest spot to her sister's room she found that had an adequate signal to make a call. As she talked to mother, Samantha noticed a man covered in long sleeves walk past her and to the receptionist desk. He was shorter than the average man. She observed the man closely. His hand rested on his thigh but he wasn't limping and his arm was unnaturally close to his body as if holding something.

"Hello? Sammie?" her mother asked over the phone.

Samantha dropped her phone at her realization and sprinted down the corridor. The man had asked the receptionist a question and when she looked away to find the answer, he pulled a gun from his coat and was about to fire but not before Samantha launched herself at him, knocking him to the ground, letting a shot go off.

People screamed and took cover. Samantha kept the man pinned to the ground until a police officer handcuffed him. More shots rang out. Samantha looked over the desk and saw more gunmen firing at anybody and everybody. Samantha took out her concealed S&W M&P 9mm and shot a gunman as he came around the desk. Using the desk as cover, she dove into Hope's room and gave her an S&W M&P R8; a revolver she also kept on her person as a concealed carry firearm.

"Are you that paranoid?!" Hope screamed over the gunshots.

"Yes! And right now it's paying off!"

Samantha went back outside and saw bodies and blood everywhere. Hiding back behind the desk, she fired again, taking one more down. As she reloaded, she looked around in frustration. There were so many people that could've picked up a gun to fire back but no one did. They cowered and hid, waiting in line to get slaughtered.

Samantha released the slide and felt something go through her right leg. She looked to her right and fired and killed another gunman running down the hall. Trying to ignore the pain, she looked around and saw some people who mustered up the courage to fight back but they were quickly put down or wounded. She gritted her teeth when she heard a scream from her sister.

"Hope!" Samantha ran towards the doorway when a bullet went through her chest. She gasped and stumbled, her eyes wide with fear.

"Sammie!" Hope screamed.

Samantha's legs quivered and she felt her hair being pulled up. She caught a glimpse of a woman in orange with a gray and white headband. The woman tilted her head as she looked at the bleeding Samantha before burying a sawn off double barrel shotgun into her stomach and released both barrels. The woman let go of Samantha and let her fall to the floor where she lay in a steadily growing puddle of her own blood.

* * *

Samantha opened her eyes and found herself to be in the life raft in the middle of the storm. It was that nightmare again. It was different than the rest as they were all different from each other but they all had the same elements. Her sister would be defenseless and she would try to protect her and in doing so, the woman in orange would always end Samantha's life by quickly making a massive hole in her stomach.

She sighed and noticed how stiff she felt. It felt like she hadn't moved in months but once she looked at her watch, it had only been an hour. She tried to move her legs but they screamed in protest and she heard an unfamiliar 'Clink!'

Looking down, she saw an unfamiliar pair of boots on her person. They were high heeled boots but the heels were rectangular instead of the normal peg. The shoes themselves along with the shin portion were colored a dark grey while the soles and calf were red. The weirdest thing about them was that they were made entirely out of metal.

Her body creaked as she sat up and examined her footwear. She attempted to take them off but there was no way she could. At least they had separate plates so she could still move her feet freely from the rest of her legs.

Looking around, she could still see smoke and debris at locations where other ships have sunk as well as other life rafts that were empty or lifeless. Not wanting to look at the scene of death and destruction any longer, she hugged her legs and rested her head on her knees with her eyes closed.

Suddenly, she heard the crackle of a radio. She looked around the life raft but there was nothing in it except blood and herself.

 _I must be hearing things._

The crackling came again. This time a little clearer.

Out of loneliness, Samantha spoke to it.

"Hello?"

Not expecting a response she put her head back onto her knees and kept listening to the static but something unexpected happened. She got a reply.

" _Hello?!"_ came a panicked voice. _"Hello, is anyone there?! We are under attack! We need support at-!"_

The message was quickly cut off with static and another crackled in her ears. This time it sounded like a panicking civilian.

" _I need help! Somebody help me!"_

Another message came through.

" _What the hell are those things?! Goddamn monsters!"_ Gunshots rang out and screams were heard. A message from a calmer, yet still distraught voice came through, probably from another destroyer.

" _My god. The entire island of Oahu is on fire,"_ one man said.

" _It's the Day of Infamy all over again,"_ another said.

Samantha sat rigid.

 _Oahu? Day of Infamy? Don't tell me Pearl Harbor is under attack!_

Her fears were confirmed when more radio traffic mysteriously flowed into her ears.

 _I need to get over there!_

Ignoring her screaming joints and muscles, she paddled the water with her hands. She tired quickly but ignored it as more calls of distress filled her ears. Her raft was at a wave's peak and there was a steep drop ahead of her. Samantha screamed as she was thrown out of her raft and tumbled down wave.

Instinctively, she paddled to the surface but her arms and legs touched air instead. She looked down and found herself _on_ the surface of the ocean. Not floating, but actually on the surface as if it was solid ground. She timidly set one foot onto the water, then the other, and slowly stood up. She stuck her arms out for balance but she was actually _standing_ on water.

Samantha couldn't help but break a smile. She couldn't believe it even though it was happening! Taking a step forward, she was able to move a little. After feeling the small amount of resistance, she pushed her feet out to the side alternatively, in a skating motion. She laughed with joy as she admired her new found ability only to be yanked back to reality when screams filled her head. She broke into a fast skate towards Pearl Harbor.

" _Jesus Christ! How much longer do we have to hold out?!"_ she heard a man yell.

There was no answer.

" _What's the status on reinforcements?! Hello?! Is there anybody there?!"_

"Yes!" Samantha cried urgently. "Yes, I'm here! I can hear you!"

There was no indication that she was heard.

 _Goddamn it! I can somehow receive these messages but how do I transmit?!_

" _They're never coming for us are they, sir?"_ a younger voice asked.

"No! Just hang in there! I'm coming!"

* * *

Samantha stood at the mouth of Pearl Harbor in absolute shock. It was quiet aside from the pattering rain and crackling fires of sunken ships. Slowly skating around the harbor, she saw many of _Cole_ 's sisters resting on the harbor floor along with the _USS Nimitz_ listing to her left. Everywhere, bodies floated on the water and lay motionless on the decks of ships.

"My god..."

Leaving a red wake behind her, she approached Battleship Row. She looked up at _Missouri_ as she passed. The old warship was listing to starboard with only her moorings keeping her up. Her mast fell into the water, taking the signal flags with it.

 _Not even the old girl could be left in peace._

Her business wasn't with the fast battleship however. It was with the ship 500 yards in front of her. She stopped at the floating bridge which served as a memorial as well as the headstone for the sunken vessel's as well as 1,177 men.

"Hey, guys," Samantha said to the ship. "I'm back."

A tear rolled down her cheek as she continued.

"I'm sorry. I am so very sorry that I let you all down. I wasn't able to save all of you and it still pains me to know that I couldn't do anything. I hope I can make it up to you by being the best ship I can be."

Samantha saluted the mass tomb and she closed her eyes as the water around her and the memorial began to glow blue. She felt weightless as the light consumed her. Her body jerked under the force impact as equipment flew onto her piece by piece.

 _This is who I am. As a warship, I was born in 1915 to succeed my older sisters, the_ Nevada- _class battleships_ , _and to challenge the British_ Nelson- _class battleships as well as the Japanese_ Nagato- _class. Designed with the 'All-or-Nothing' ideal and armed with twelve 14"/45 caliber navy rifles housed in four turrets, I can do just that._

The light faded and Samantha stood tall and confident with her brand new equipment. She had vambraces on her forearms. The portions on her inner arms were red and the outer were a dark gray, just like her boots. Over her uniform, she had a dark gray underbust corset that had a thick black line running down on both sides. Attached to the harness on her back, what resembled two halves of a ship's hull curved around to her sides. Each on the wooden "deck" of each side had a triple gun turret. Two more turrets were just above and behind her shoulders and angled slightly outwards. On her back she had a tripod mast with a conning tower. To complete her outfit, she had a US Navy cutlass at her hip.

"Heh. That 'All-or-Nothing' didn't seem to work out in the end," Samantha chuckled. "No hard feelings, Hiryu. But if you're out there, I want you to know that I forgive you."

She wiped away her tears.

"And who am I? I am the second of the _Pennsylvania_ -class battleships, a super-dreadnaught, hull number BB-39. I am _USS Arizona_."

A beam of sunlight broke through the clouds and shone on Arizona. She unsheathed her cutlass and held it in the air.

"I promise that I will never give up, I will never surrender, and I will fight to the very end and I won't go down until every last round of ammunition has been fired."

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 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this one shot. Please tell me what you think and leave a comment whether they'd be compliments or criticisms (constructive criticisms are preferred) as they will be greatly appreciated. Anyways ladies and gents, stay smart, stay safe, and I hope to catch you in my next story.**

 **PS:**  
 **The figure that keeps taking Arizona out in her nightmares is supposed to resemble Hiryuu in her Kai Ni remodel as the real _Hiryuu_ dealt the final blow to _Arizona_. **

**The 'All-or-Nothing' ideal was to give battleships more armor in all the important places, such as the _magazine_ , and put less armor elsewhere. I interpreted it by giving her the metal corset.**

 **I've read somewhere that the _Pennsylvania_ -classes were to challenge the Big 7 (well 'Big 4' as three of those ships are US ships) but I was unable to find it again so I'm unsure about the fact.**

 **Update: 5-20-2015**

 **I would like to thank Wolfman-053 for-**

 **Arizona: Hey, Wolf! Whatcha typing?**

 **I'm addressing a mistake I made in the story.**

 **Arizona: Oh? What would that be?**

 **You know how you said you were made to take on the Big 7?**

 **Arizona: Yes.**

 **Well, you weren't.**

 **Arizona: I know. A girl can dream, can't she?**

 **Yes. Yes she can.**

 **Arizona: *ruffles my hair and walks away***

 **Anyway, thanks Wolfman-053 for the information and thank you to everyone for the feedback. I'll see what I can do for a continuation for this story but it'll be its own link. Thank you guys and take care.**


End file.
